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The Other Face of Augustus's Aggressive Inclination to Egypt

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The Other Face of Augustus's Aggressive Inclination to Egypt Journal of Association of Arab Universities for Tourism and Hospitality Volume 12 - June 2015 - No 1 - Pages: (35 : 56) The Other Face of Augustus’s Aggressive Inclination to Egypt Wahid Omran Lecturer in Tourist Guidance Dep., Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Fayoum University Introduction The initial attitude of Octavian against Egypt is proved by his speech to his troops on the evening before the battle of Actium. Pride in his Roman birth is compared to the despicability of an Egyptian woman as an opponent, who is supported by Dio Cassius reference.1 "Alexandrians and Egyptians- what worse or what truer name could one apply to them?- who worship reptiles and beasts as gods, who embalm their own bodies to give them semblance of immortality, who are most reckless in effrontery but most feeble in courage, and worst of all are slaves to a woman and not to a man". Since The Roman poet Virgile (70- 19 B.C), 2 the Romans opposed the animal – cult of the Egyptians, and considered these gods as monsters.3 The Egyptian character of the Augustus's opponents is related to the Augustan propaganda, represented the Augustus's war against Antony and Cleopatra not only a civil war between Rome and Egypt, but like a struggle between the West and the East. Whose Mark Antony was a traitor joined the powers of the East, whereas Octavian's victory in Actium was not only for himself, but basically for Rome and the Romans. This struggle was described in literature's documents as a civil strife or a foreign war.4 Augustus also knew he had a compensated war against Antony and Cleopatra as a republican magistrate crushing Oriental despotism.5 He is supported by the Roman society ethics and the star of the sacred Caesar, on the other hand, Antony, once a great Roman commander-in-chief, but now supported by a foreign army and followed by unnamed Egyptian spouse.6 The Romans considered the battle not only a military, but either a religious one between the Roman and the Egyptian Pantheons. The Romans mocked of the Egyptian deities and considered them as enemies. Therefore, during this war, Antony was under the homage of these anthropomorphic Egyptian gods as Isis, Osiris, Serapis and Anubis, while Cleopatra called up her troops by using the ancient sistrum, one of the attributes of Isis cult.7 While, the Roman gods support Octavian. The Roman abhorrence of Egyptian theomorphic gods created a hostile feeling towards Antony and Cleopatra.8 The Roman poets related to the Octavian's war, mainly considered Alexandria, Canopus and Memphis as symbols of the various vices of which they accused the Egyptians. Alexandria was the capital, the cosmopolitan city, and the important trade harbor in the Mediterranean, Canopus as an entertainment center, while Memphis was the capital for the native Egyptians. This is described as a city of the barbarian, guilty of the blood of the Romans, and mocking on its religious significance for the Egyptians.9 The fall of “the Egyptian wife of the Roman leader” led Ovid to follow this by ridiculing her threats to put the Capitol in subservience to Canopus. 10 Again, while talking about “the queen of Canopus” Propertius mentioned, 11 in the same poem, Alexandria and Memphis, in direct mention to Egypt.While denouncing what he considered the queen‟s preposterous contrast between Jupiter and Anubis, the Tiber and the Nile, the Roman horn and the sistrum of Isis. Vergil talked about “Antony‟s Egyptian wife”, “the queen calling her forces with the sistrums of her fatherland”, and “the mournful Nile”, while contrasting the Egyptian and the Roman deities.12The other face of Augustus‟s Preference against Egypt can be well- noticed in these four points: - The Imperial Cult "Kaisareion" The imperial cult was a system rose from the Roman provinces, not from Rome itself, especially in Asia Minor. Later, it flourished and spread to all the Roman provinces.13 The cult of the genius of Augustus became a principal element in Italy during his lifetime.14 The Republican Rome know the imperial cult, as a maintenance of the cults given to Roman leaders, both political and military, either out of the genuine gratitude for benefactions conferred, or form of a sycophantic desire to do favor with the leaders at Rome, especially the great generals of the Late Republican history.15 Divine honors, including festivals, were decreed on behalf of such Roman leaders such as Sulla, Pompey and Julius Cesar. In addition to these cults, the Romans regarded goddess “Roma” as the symbol of “the entire Roman people”, or of “the Roman state”.16 Therefore, the chief priest of the imperial cult of Augustus at Rome was “chief priest of the goddess Roma and the emperor Caesar, son of god, Augustus”.17 By seizing Egypt after the battle of Actium in 30 B. C, Augustus succeeded the Ptolemies and their predecessor, the Egyptian Pharaohs. He established a new Roman cult not only in Egypt, but in the whole world. The Egyptians worshipped Roman emperors and portrayed them traditionally on Egyptian temple relief,18 and the worship of the living emperor as well as the dead one. The emperor became fully integrated to the Egyptian gods in their temples like the Ptolemies, the emperor automatically became “synnaoi” of the Egyptian gods, as a continuation of the Ptolemaic cult. 19 However, the Roman Journal of Association of Arab Universities for Tourism and Hospitality Volume 12 - June 2015 - No 1 - Pages: (35 : 56) cult was locally organized on the level of the Greek poleis (especially Alexandria) and the nomemetropoleis, the organization of the cult was “official”, and the living emperors didn‟t receive divine cult name as the Ptolemies, since Augustus was given an official cult name as “Zeus Eleutherios Sebastos”.20 In addition, his imperial statues were not typical cult statues, they were of Hellenistic style.21 Festivals and rituals performed in temples in honor of the emperors.22 The Egyptian priests didn‟t play any role in the Imperial cult, unlike the Ptolemaic royal cult. In 30 B.C, when Augustus was still known as Octavian conquered Alexandria, the ascension of Octavian to the Egyptian throne took place on Thot I Egyptian in 29 B.C= August 31 Julian 29 B.C,23 he decided to annex Egypt as a province of Rome. In fact, Egypt was both a gold mine and a granary to the Roman soldiers as well as a spring-board to the Roman conquerors in their campaigns in the East.24 After Actium battle, the appearance of Augustus in Alexandria, and his brief stay in Egypt and the events during these days, refered to the beginning of a new era in Egypt, and illustrate the personal prejudices of the Roman Augustus towards Egypt, the Egyptians, and their cults. These events were related by Dio Cassius as follows: “He was merciful toward all the Egyptians and Alexandrians and had none of them put to death. In reality, this was because he did not want to inflict any irreparable harm on them because they were numerous and might be useful to the Romans in many ways. As enexcuse, however, he cited their god Serapis and their founder Alexander, as well as their fellow citizen Arius, with whom he was on intimate terms and liked to discuss Philosophy. The speech in which he proclaimed his pardon gor them he delivered in Greek, so that they could understand him. It is said that when he later viewed the body of Alexander, he touched it, breaking off a bit of the nose in the process. However, he did not view the bodies of the Ptolenmies, although the Alexandrians were eager to show them to him, and he declared, “It was a king I wished to see, not corpses”. And for this same reason he refused to make a visit to see the Apis bull, stating that he was accustomed to worship gods but not cattle”. Augustus in his few days in Egypt, and his first years of rule, was confused under a contradiction between his malice and hatred of Cleopatra VII, not only his rival enemy, but either the Romans‟. Besides, his eagerness to maintain his Roman blood and traditions as a Caesar, he seized Alexandria as a present for the Romans. He succeeded to achieve the holy victory, especially his first pseudo-god treatment and attitude towards the Egyptians was not because of his love or sympathy with them, but of their large numbers and they might be useful to the Romans in several aspects, as Cassius mentioned. This first attitude remained in a power struggle with his Personal aspirations and dreams as a pharaoh, as a hero, as a legendary figure, or as a god. The clash was between the imposed and the hoped -selfish attitude of Augustus; he accepted his divinity in Egypt, recognizing that religion was an essential tool for gaining Egyptian support in ruling the area. Augustus granted Egypt a special status among all his conquered provinces. According to Roman tradition; only a person of senatorial rank could be appointed to govern a province of the Roman Empire, due to the importance and the great rank of Egypt as the main granary of Rome and the Romans. Augustus broke this tradition by appointing Gallus as the prefect of Egypt, as described by Dio Cassiusas;25 “Afterwards he made Egypt tributary and gave it in charge of Cornelius Gallus. For in view of the populousness of both the cities and country, the facile, fickle character of the inhabitants, and the extent of the grain- supply and of wealth, so far from daring to entrust the land to any senator, he would not even grant a senator permission to live in it, expect as he personally made the concession to him by name”.
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